POWA calls for end to gendered attacks on Lordina Mahama and Samira Bawumia
The Progressive Organisation for Women’s Advancement (POWA) has called for an end to the personal attacks, insults and gendered mockery directed at First Lady Lordina Mahama and former Second Lady Samira Bawumia.
POWA says the attacks go beyond ordinary partisan political exchanges and reflect a troubling pattern in which prominent women in public life are subjected to personal humiliation because of their political affiliations and visibility.
In a statement signed by its Founder and President, Victoria Lakshmi Hamah, PhD, the organisation stressed that women can belong to different political parties, hold opposing political views and disagree strongly without being subjected to gendered attacks.
POWA said Lordina Mahama and Samira Bawumia have both occupied highly visible positions within Ghana’s political leadership and have platforms that can be used to advance issues affecting women, girls and vulnerable communities.
“Those platforms should not become instruments of pitting women against one another,” the organisation said.
The organisation called on women’s rights groups, women’s organisations, civil society organisations and all Ghanaians to reject what it described as the normalisation of gendered insults and personal attacks against women in public life.
POWA, however, stressed that its position should not be interpreted as a call to shield either woman from legitimate public scrutiny.
It said women in political and public office must remain accountable for their words, actions and policies, but argued that accountability should not be confused with humiliation, misogyny or personal attacks.
According to POWA, gender, alongside factors such as political affiliation, class and access to institutional power, can shape women’s experiences in public life.
It warned that when women are encouraged to expend their political energy fighting one another, attention can be diverted from broader structural inequalities that continue to limit women’s participation and influence.
“When women divide, unequal power systems benefit,” POWA stated.
The organisation highlighted challenges facing Ghanaian women, including inadequate political representation, economic inequality, violence against women and girls, unequal access to opportunities, unpaid care responsibilities and barriers to decision-making.
It therefore urged women across the country to resist political divisions that could weaken their collective bargaining power.
POWA also called on men who believe in gender equality to reject gendered political attacks and urged political actors across the political divide to demonstrate that political competition can coexist with respect for women’s dignity.
The organisation further called on First Lady Lordina Mahama and former Second Lady Samira Bawumia to consider leading a broader conversation on women’s political solidarity beyond party lines.
POWA said political differences should not prevent women from cooperating on issues that affect the lives of women and girls.
“Solidarity does not require political uniformity,” the organisation stated.
“Ghana needs more women at the table. It needs women who can disagree without destroying one another. It needs women who can compete politically while still cooperating on issues that affect the lives of millions of women and girls.”
POWA concluded by urging Ghanaians not to allow partisan politics to turn women against one another when there are broader issues requiring collective action.
“Women’s power is people’s power,” the statement said.
